Living the Paramitas

 

03.18.2022 LIVING THE PARAMITAS In Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva practices of the six paramitas, or transcendent perfections, are: generosity, moral discipline, endurance, effort, meditation, and wisdom. These are said to be a path to enlightenment, the fruition of the bodhisattva way, and a means to benefit sentient beings. They are transcendent because the subject, object, and practice of the perfections are all free of self, which is known as the threefold purity. “How do we bring the paramitas to life?,” asks Buddhadharma editor Koun Franz in the opening commentary to the new Spring 2022 issue. Inside, you’ll find the answer to that very question, with deep explorations on each of the paramitas from six Buddhist teachers. Below are three of those explorations, delving into how to bring wisdom, compassion, and generosity to life from Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Norman Fischer, and Nikki Mirghafori. May they set the tone for a more wise, generous, and compassionate weekend.

The Freedom of Emptiness At the heart of the path of the paramitas is prajna, or wisdom — but a wisdom that goes beyond our conventional ideas about it. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche unpacks how that kind of wisdom works. What exactly is emptiness? Although many people assume that emptiness is nothing, it’s not nothing. “Nothing” doesn’t exist. Think of it like a dream. While dreaming, you are able to see a dream house. You can walk up to its front door and step inside. You might go into its kitchen and pour yourself a glass of water from its tap. In reality, there is no house there at all, but at the same time, a house is appearing. We see this situation explained in the Heart Sutra, the essence of Buddha’s teaching on Vulture Peak. The Heart Sutra states, “Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness.” This is the ultimate wisdom.

Compassion Without Calculation How do we practice ethical conduct, or sila, without falling into judgment, and without ignoring the complexity of each moment? According to Norman Fischer, the way has always been there. For bodhisattvas, sila paramita is serene, loving conduct. It’s speaking, acting, and thinking out of love and the desire to be of service, a practice that helps you to further develop love for others, which causes others to love you. There are many teachings about how others will be drawn to you, and be cooperative with you, when you practice sila paramita. To benefit others is to influence them for the good, drawing them to kindness and goodness, and serving as an example of that. But this is done innocently and without intentionality. Bodhisattvas are without calculation.

First, an Open Hand In any presentation of the paramitas, dana, or generosity, always comes first — Nikki Mirghafori explains why. The heart’s capacity to receive kindness is not distinct from the ability to give it; when we think of generosity, we may overlook the importance of being able to receive from others and the world, as well as the ability to offer generosity to ourselves. When we cultivate metta in ever-widening concentric circles, we start with ourselves. Only then do we expand to our benefactors, good friends, neutral beings, those we have challenges with, and finally, all beings. If we experience sharing as the Buddha described it, it may not be obvious who is the giver, who is the receiver, and what is the gift. If we do not practice both receiving and giving, then the practice does not deepen.

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